As I started thinking about this, I started thinking about the NBA playoffs. I did a little googling and found some eye-opening stats.
It seemed like home-court advantage was pretty important last year. The Celtics and Lakers, the two top seeds, combined to go 23-2 at home during the 2008 Playoffs. Boston's only loss at the Garden came in Game 2 of the conference finals against Detroit, and the Lakers only loss at Staples Center came in Game 4 of The Finals.
from:
(http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/john_schuhmann/04/1...)and
Last season the Celtics needed a seventh game at home to squeak by in each of the first two rounds. Maybe even more telling, 14 of the 15 series were won by teams with the home-court advantage.
from:
(http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=16945...)So, maybe it's not so out-of-whack.
Once I scored a basket that still makes me laugh.